Poole B V Purbeck A

This was our first time

This was our first time playing at Poole's new venue and, unfortunately, John's sat nav was not at all happy about it - it sent him around the houses several times before he gave up and parked in Poole town centre and walked the rest of the way. He arrived with literally 2 minutes left before he defaulted to be met by me telling him to 'just make a move, John'! The half-hour deficit was just too much for him and Jamie won in fine style. As did Nick for us on board 3 - the opening morphed into a French structure and while Ellis was massing his army on the queenside, Nick was doing similarly around Ellis's king, eventually winning a rook at which point Ellis resigned. Board 1 was next to finish - I had a slight edge for most of the game but a fine defensive move by David left me without a plan (there probably was a plan but I couldn't find it!) so we agreed a draw. Board 4 had been close all evening and ended up in a equally close R+B+3P v R+N+3P which was eventually agreed a draw. Thanks to Poole for hosting a very pleasant evening - we like your new venue and we also like your new wooden sets and boards!

Steve Peirson